Separable fastener



April 27, 1965 M. MURPHY, SR

SEPARABLE FASTENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 11, 1963 INV EN TOR Marr/Y/ M. Mwpy, 5r.

ATTORNEY} azwi our/1111111 p 1955 M. M. MURPHY, SR

SEPARABLE FASTENER 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Oct. 11, 1963 INVENTOR Merr'fl/fiiMuw/jafin ATTORNEY5 3,179,992 SEPARABLE FASTENER Merrill M. Murphy,Sn, Cortland, N .Y., assignor to Irvmg Air (Ihute Company, Inc.,Lexington, Ky., a corporation 01 New York Filed Get. 11, 1963, Ser. No.315,453 7 Qlaims. (Cl. 24-77) This invention relates to improvements infastening buckles more particularly utilized in connection with seatbelts.

Thepresent invention relates to an improved seat belt buckle havingimproved features which will admit of the safe application and removalof the latching tongue of the belt without liability of a falseconnection; the parts being so constructed and arranged that thelatching tongue can only be applied to the buckle under suchcircumstances that the latch dog will correctly receive the tongueplate.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an improved coverconstruction for a buckle at the webbing clamping bar portion thereof.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an improvedlatching dog assemblage and means for the safetying thereof.

A further object of this invention is the provision of improved biasingspring means for the latching dog construction.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a safety beltbuckle having a base portion provided with a bottom wall; the bottomwall having an inclined forwardly positioned ramp thereon; the bucklefurthermore having a spring urged latch with a latching end which isadapted to engage the base entirely forwardly of the ramp so that noportion of the latch at any time engages the ramp. This enables the beltclip to more easily lift the latch and to be attached to the latchingmechanism.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description.

in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification andwherein similar reference characters designate corresponding par-tsthroughout the several views:

"EEGURE 1 is a plan view of the buckle in closed position having theseat belt webbing attached thereto in adjustable relation at one end andshowing the tongue plate attached thereto and to the webbing of the beltat the opposite end of the belt.

FEGURE 2 is a side elevation of the buckle shown in FlGURE 1.

PlGURE 3 is a cross sectional View taken longitudinally through thebuckle showing the dog in tongue latching position.

FTGURE 4 is a view showing the lever handle in opened position such aswould be the case when the operator lifts the same to release the belttongue plate.

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken through the axle or pin whichmounts both the handle or lever and the dog or latch in position,substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of the buckle in opened position.

FlGURE 7 is a perspective exploded view of the buckle parts and tongueplate.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention, the letter A generally designatesthe buckle which may include a casing having a base portion 13, strapbar and cover assembly C; operating lever and its associated parts D,and latch or dog parts E.

The base B preferably comprises a bottom wall 10 having right angledparallel side walls 11 and 12 at opposite side margins thereof. It, aswell as most parts ofthe buckle, may be made of stamped metal, with thepossible exception of the handle or lid portion. At its rear portion thebottom wall 10 is provided with a transverse opening 13 adapted toreceive the adjusting end of the belt webbing F. Theside walls 11 and 12are provided with inclined slots 14 and 15 adapted to receive thereduced ends 16 of a knurled webbing bar 17 of cylindrical shape, asshown in FIG. 7. Such bars are old in the art and are intended toreceive the adjusting end of the Webbing F; the ends of the webbing Fbeing extended through the slot 13 and wrapped around the bar 17. Theinclination or slope of slots 14 and 15 is such that under tension thewebbing F will pull the bar 17 in the direction of the down ends of theslots 14 and 15 and clamp the webbing at its adjusting end between thebar and the edge of the slot 13, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Since thereduced ends 16 slide along the slots 14- and 15 the webbing or belt canbe adjusted as to size in a manner well known in the art. I

A feature of the buckle A consists in a cover 20, preferably of sheetmetal having an end wall 21 and a top wall 22. The lower end of the endwall 21 is provided with a hook shaped flange 23 adapted to detachablyengage in an opening 24 provided in the rear end of the base bottom Wall10. The top wall 22 is provided with a pair of latching prongs 25extending in right angled relation from the top wall in a downwarddirection. They have hook ends 26 laterally extended outwardly. Theseprongs 25 are intended to be yieldable or springy in order that theoutturned ends 26 may snap into the upper ends of the slots 14 and 15which are enlarged at 27 so as not to interfere with the sliding of thereduced ends 16 of the Webbing bar 17. The hooked ends 26 are shown intheir hook positions in the extension ends 27 of the slots 14 and 15 inFIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings.

It is apparent that the cover 20 will be held in place over the webbingand its bar assemblage to protect the same, and that the cover may beeasily removed for any purpose which may require replacement of webbingor the like.

At its front end the opening 13 in the bottom wall of the base B isprovided with an upturned stop flange 35 located midway the ends of theslot 13 adapted to act as a stop flange to limit the opening movement ofthe dog or latch as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

Referring to the operating lid assembly D and the latch assembly E, thesame are interconnected and there fore will be described together. Anaxle pin or shaft for the dog and lid designated at 36 is of cylindricalformation, having one end thereof diametrically slotted at 37 to receivean end 38 of a coiled torsion spring 3%. The latter is slipped over theslotted end of the axle 36. The slot 37 also receives a key piece 39 theends of which extend radially from the pin 36 and are adapted to enterthe slots 4t? at opposite sides of opening 41 in side plate 12. Theother side plate 11 has a corresponding opening 42 to receive theopposite end of the axle 36. The axle 36 does not rotate and is held bythe key 39 against such rotation.

The lid 46 includes a top wall 47 which lies between the side walls 11and 12 of the base B and operates freely in the space between the innersurfaces of the side wall; said wall 47 being complementary to the wall22 of the webbing closure 20. The wall 47 is provided with downwardlyextended side walls 49 and 50 and a front wall 51 is also provided. Atits rear end the wall 47 is provided with relatively spaced hubs 52transversely apertured at 53 and 53 in aligning relation to receive theaxle of pin 36 therein. The lid 46 turns on said axle 35 which FatentedApr. 27, 1965.

is a stationary part of the buckle. One hub 52 is slotted at 54 and isadapted to receive a radially outturned end of torsion spring 3S (seeFIG. 7). The spring 39 isnorrnally biased so that it will bring the lid46 to a'closing position as shown in FIG. 3. In order to open the lid itis necessary to manually lift the lid to the position shown in FIG. 4.This tensions the spring 39 due to its ends 38 and 55 being keyedrespectively to the axle 36 and the lid 46..

Referring to the dog assembly shown in FIG. 7, the same may be made of aplurality of sheet metal stamped parts or may be made of a single part.The part or parts are arranged to provide an opening 61 thereon toreceive the axle 36. The forward ends of the dog 60 are provided withlatch legs or hooked ends 62 and the rear ends have tail portions 63. Atorsion spring 64 shown in perspective in FIG. 7 is provided havingcoiled portions 65 land 66 which receive the axle pin 36 therethrough;the inner ends of these coils being connected by a U-shaped bightportion 67 which extends rearwardly and engages the undersides of thelatch tail extensions 63. The outer sides of the coils 65 and 66 extendforwardly'to provide legs 68 which engage the underside of the lid 46.The spring 64 is biased to force the latching end extension 62 of thelatch 60 downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 3. The spring 64 urgesthe dog downward even when the lid 46 is opened as shown in FIG. 4. Itwill be noted that the lid 46 has a limited opening as shown in FIG. 4due to engagement of the tail ends 63 of the dog against the flange 35.The rear end of the wall 47 will also engage the extensions 63 whenopened to prevent too far opening of the lid. It should be noted thatthe lid 46 can be opened with respect to the dogs even while they arelatched and in latching position until the rear end of the wall 47engages the extensions 63 and then the lid can be further raised to theposition shown in FIG. 4 against biasing of the torsion spring 39 torelease the tongue clip 90.

The belt clip or tongue plate 90 has one end of the webbing permanentlysecured thereto as in conventional practice, and it is provided with anarrow opening 91 therein for receiving such webbing and an opening 92in its forward plate portion to receive the detent ends 62 of the dogassemblage 60. i

The base bottom wall 10 is provided with an inclined ramp 95 a shortdistance inwardly of the forward edge 96 thereof. Since these parts arepreferably made of sheet metal the score or bending line 97 of the ramp95 is indicated in the drawings. The ramp 95 extends at an acute angleupwardly and to the rear. The ramp is of less width than the bottom wall10 as is shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings, but is of greater width thanthe opening 92. Assuming the plate or clip 90 not to be connected to thebuckle, the operator. inserts the clip into the forward end of thebucklein the space provided therefor beneath the wall 51 of the lid 46.The plate first slides parallel with the bottom wall 10 and while sodoing engages the inclined cam shaped edge 98 of the latch mechanism. Asthe clip continues to be inserted the dog will be raised against thebiasing of its torsion spring 64 to the point where the opening 92permits the latch legs 62 to drop into the opening 92. It should benoted that the latch legs 62 of the dog engage the inner surface of theflat horizontal portion of the wall 10 entirely forwardly of the ramp sothat no portion of the dog at any time engages the ramp. This enablesthe clip to be attached to the dog mechanism with greater ease. When therear end of the clip 90 has been sufliciently inserted it will engagethe ramp 95 and will be moved to an inclined position and securelylatched as shown in such position in FIG. 3.

In order to prevent a false connection of the tongue clip 90, guideflanges 104) are struck inwardly from the material of the base in theforeportion at the inner sides of the walls 11 and 12 and then flangedupwardly in right angled relation at 191. The flanges 1% act as guardsto prevent the clip from engaging in the buckle in an unsafe crosswiseposition and the upstanding flanges 161 prevent the clip from beinginserted on top of the guard flanges 190. It will be noted that lugs 193are provided at the inner sides of the lid 46, the lower edges of whichare adapted to engage the top edges of the flanges 191 to effectivelylimit the closed position of the lid 46 to the position of parts shownin FIG. 3.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that an improved safety beltbuckle has been provided in which the dog mechanism is so associatedwith protective features that the dog will always be in proper positionand the user cannot falsely latch or connect the tongue plate in thebuckle. This will be noted from FIG. 4 in which it is shown that thevertical flanges 161 extend above the cam edge 98 of the dog. Since theclip 96 at its inserting end is wider than the spacing of the flanges itwill be impossible to latch the dog on the clip when the lid 46 is inits raised position because the tongue plate at its inserting edge willengage the flanges 161.

Various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be madeto the form of invention herein shown and described without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a safety belt buckle structure the combination of a casing basecomprising a bottom wall and upstanding relatively spaced parallel sidewalls, latching means mounted upon said side Walls, said side wallsrearwardly of the latching means having a belt webbing receiving barmovably mounted on saidside walls for fore and aft movement, and aremovable cover connected to said casing base and side walls forenclosing said webbing bar, said base at its rear end being providedwith an opening therethrough and said cover being provided with adepending hook detachably connected in said opening, said cover at itsfore portion having means for detachable connection with the side walls.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which the means for detachableconnection of the cover with the side walls comprises yieldablespring-urged detents connected at each side thereof and in which thespaced parallel side walls of the base are provided with sockets fordetachably receiving said detents.

3. In a safety belt buckle structure the combination of a base includinga bottom wall and upstanding longitudinally extending side walls, ahandle-type lid, means pivotally mounting said handle-type lid upon saidside walls, spring means normally biasing said lid so that it will moveinto closed position, a dog pivotally mounted upon said lid pivot meansbetween the lid and base wall, said dog at its forward end having adepending latching leg, spring means normally urging said dog downwardly towards the bottom wall, said bottom wall having an upwardly andrearwardly extending raised ramp at a location entirely rearwardly ofsaid depending leg of the dog, and a tongue plate having an openingtherein adapted to be inserted from forwardly of the buckle between thelid and bottom wall, said tongue plate having an opening therein of asize to receive the latching leg.

4. The buckle defined in claim 3 in which the side walls of the base areprovided with inwardly extending inverted L-shaped lugs each comprisinga bottom leg and an upstanding leg at opposite sides of the rampdisposed in a position above the normal top of the ramp to define atongue plate guide which will only admit of a correct insertion of thetongue plate below said legs to a position movable over said ramp.

5. The buckle of claim 4 in which the dog latching leg has a forwardlyfacing downwardly and rearwardly sloping cam edge and in which theupstanding legs of the lugs are spaced closer together than the width ofthe tongue plate at its inserting end and in which the dog when raisedto its maximum extent will have said cam edge 1ying below the top of theupstanding legs of said lugs.

6. In a safety belt buckle structure the combination of a base,including a bottom wall and upstanding longitudinally extending sideWalls, a handle type lid, means pivotally mounting said handle type lidupon said side walls, spring means normally biasing said lid so that itwill move into closed position, a dog pivotally mounted upon said lidbetween the lid and base Wall, said dog at its forward end having adepending latching leg, spring means normally urging said dog downwardlytowards the base bottom wall, said base bottom wall having an upwardlyand rearwardly extending raised ramp thereon, a tongue plate having anopening therein adapted to be inserted from forwardly of the bucklebetween the lid and bottom wall to engage said ramp to raise the tongueplate, said tongue plate having an opening therein of a size to receivethe latching leg, the side walls of the base having inwardly extendedinverted L-shaped lugs mounted thereon at opposite sides of the ramp,each comprising a bottom leg attached to the side wall and an upstandingleg disposed at an elevation above the normal top of the ramp to definea guide for the tongue plate which will only admit of only a correctinsertion of the tongue plate below said lug bottom legs to a positionmovable over said ramp.

7. The buckle of claim 6 in which the dog latching leg has a forwardlyfacing downwardly and rearwardly sloping cam edge and in which theupstanding legs of the lugs are spaced closer together than the Width orthe tongue plate at its inserting end and in which the dog when raisedto its maximum extent will have said cam edge lying below the tops ofthe upstanding legs of said lugs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,862,268 12/58Cushman 24-75 2,876,516 3/59 Cummings 24230.1 2,896,284 7/59 Bishaf24-2301 2,916,786 12/59 Legat 24230.1 2,999,288 '9/61 Warner 24-230.13,029,487 4/62 Asai 24-230.1

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A SAFETY BELT BUCKLE STRUCTURE THE COMBINATION OF A CASING BASECOMPRISING A BOTTOM WALL AND UPSTANDING RELATIVELY SPACED PARALLEL SIDEWALLS, LATCHING MEANS MOUNTED UPON SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLSREARWARDLY OF THE LATCHING MEANS HAVING A BELT WEBBING RECEIVING BARMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SIDE WALLS FOR FORE AND AFT MOVEMENT, AND AREMOVABLE COVER CONNECTED TO SAID CASING BASE AND SIDE WALLS FORENCLOSING SAID WEBBING BAR, SAID BASE AT ITS REAR END BEING PROVIDEDWITH AN OPENING THERETHROUGH AND SAID COVER BEING PROVIDED WITH ADEPENDING HOOK DETACHABLY CONNECTED IN SAID OPENING, SAID COVER AT ITSFORE PORTION HAVING MEANS FOR DETACHABLE CONNECTION WITH THE SIDE WALLS.